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To walk invisible

135 replies

Dowser · 29/12/2016 22:04

Really looked forward to this but am finding it all a bit. Meh!

Anyone else watching
It might just be me
I'm a bit tired tonight

OP posts:
littlejeopardy · 30/12/2016 09:51

I liked it but felt that we missed some of the action. Like it would have been nice to see Emily's stint as a governess instead of just hearing about it afterwards.

Loved seeing Haworth on screen, it's one of my favourite places to visit.

I love JE and WH but haven't read the Tenant. Maybe I should this year.

TheHiphopopotamus · 30/12/2016 10:04

I'm just watching it now and enjoying it. I think they've mainly got it spot on, especially how Charlotte looks.

A good biography of the Brontës is 'The Brontës' by Juliet Barker. It dispels some of the myths surrounding them, like the one that they were isolated in a small village (that's thanks to Gaskell's biography of Charlotte, I think) and although the author appears to have a girl crush on Charlotte and dismisses Emily's genius out of hand, it's an interesting read.

Hockneypool · 30/12/2016 10:25

Yes it would like to have seen more about Emily too. I struggled with WH but am going to have a look at her poetry now.

Elendon · 30/12/2016 10:34

Anne was the youngest absolutely so maybe that led to her being the quiet one, though her father did describe her as the most intelligent. It didn't stop this quiet and reserved woman from writing such an explosive book as Tenant of Wildfell Hall though. So sad that as she was just finding her talent as a writer that she then died. It was true that she and Emily were extremely fond of each other. Perhaps Charlotte was jealous of this intimacy between them. Only my opinion of course.

Elendon · 30/12/2016 10:40

Also Anne was the the only Bronte children to have the longest in employment, despite being homesick. She and the Robinson girls of Thorpe Hall remained friends.

Namechangingbastard · 30/12/2016 10:45

I've recorded this to watch tonight. My favourite is 'wildfell hall' too. I first read it at about 14 and have reread it many times. Haworth is very local to me I saw them delivering the set and was going to apply to be an extra!

woodhill · 30/12/2016 10:46

I enjoyed it. Wasn't Branwell a nightmare.

EnthusiasmIsDisturbed · 30/12/2016 10:51

I think it would have been broader and others would have certainly have broader accents

We have a recording of my great grandparents (born 1880's) they were born and lived close by their accents and dialect is very strong but they were not from wealthy backgrounds or highly educated so accent/dialect wouldn't have been corrected

It's an absolutely lovely recording Smile

Elendon · 30/12/2016 11:05

Regarding accents. Let's not forget their father was Northern Irish and their mother was from Cornwall, and their maternal aunt as well. This would have had an influence on their Yorkshire accents.

Elendon · 30/12/2016 11:14

Their father also went to Cambridge and he was born in a two roomed house, near to where I lived as a teenager. Their mother was from a wealthy family in Cornwall. Parents influence accents.

ChessieFL · 30/12/2016 11:17

I have this recorded to watch and am looking forward to it!

For those looking for a biography, I read Charlotte Bronte by Claire Harman back in the summer and enjoyed it. Quite long but didn't find it too hard going.

OhStuffingBalls · 30/12/2016 11:20

It was slow going at the start, but I really enjoyed this in the end.

I wish there had been slightly less emphasis on Branwell's troubles and a bit more insight into the inner lives of the sisters. Overall, though, I loved the bleakness of it.

birdybirdywoofwoof · 30/12/2016 16:35

Watched half last night and looking forward to the 2nd half. I thought it was excellent- great to look at, great characterisation, lovely acting...there is so much that can be said about the brontes but I really loved the focus of this one. (So far!)

diddl · 30/12/2016 19:06

I really enjoyed it!

But the tragedy of them all dying so young-and the father surviving until his 80s!

Imagine outliving your spouse & every one of your children.

TheHiphopopotamus · 30/12/2016 19:29

I wish it had been a series rather than a film though. They could have gone into much more depth.

Thought the casting and portrayal of the sisters was excellent. I'm not certain but I think the exterior shots of the parsonage were purpose built sets. I'm sure I saw a pic on Instagram of it. The real parsonage is surrounded by trees now.

Clawdy · 30/12/2016 22:33

I loved the strong Yorkshire feel to the whole production, it was so well-acted and felt so real.Loved the scene in the publisher's office. It would have been nice to have seen the blossoming romance between Charlotte and the young curate. Did they not mention her death in chilbirth at the end, I must have missed that.

Darklane · 30/12/2016 23:11

They built the house & the street leading up to it out of wood, on the moors behind the village, not far from the farm, now a ruin, that was supposed to be the inspiration for the farm Wuthering Heights.
They painted the houses in Haworth black to replicate the colour they would have been back then with the grime from soot.
The churchyard was greatly overcrowded with bodies &, being at the top of the hill, the effluent from decomposition added to the general sewage that flowed down the steep street.

I think it had to just imply a lot with only concentrating on the three years prior to Bramwell's death. I read that she'd been given the option of writing a series but decided against it. Think that's a pity as there's so much more background that had gone before, the older sisters, the school at Cowan Bridge, Brussels, the attempts at governessing or plans for starting a school, then the death of the three remaining girls, each tragic in its own way.
The bleakness, the rain, the beauty of the moors were well represented. I know cos I live high on them. We always say you can tell what season it is by the temperature of the horizontal rain!

Chippednailvarnishing · 30/12/2016 23:17

Loved this, it was an unexpected pleasure as I normally avoid period dramas.

Chippednailvarnishing · 30/12/2016 23:18

The churchyard was greatly overcrowded with bodies &, being at the top of the hill, the effluent from decomposition added to the general sewage that flowed down the steep street

I read somewhere that it also tainted the water supply...

thatone · 31/12/2016 00:28

I loved this, it was beautifully written and acted. It really brought the family to life. I particularly liked the depiction of Patrick Bronte and his love for his children. It is an amazing and tragic and really inspirational story.

diddl · 31/12/2016 09:02

" It would have been nice to have seen the blossoming romance between Charlotte and the young curate. Did they not mention her death in chilbirth at the end, I must have missed that."

Yes it would-I would also have been interested in seeing a little of their time from home.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who "missed" about Charlotte's death.

Elendon · 31/12/2016 10:09

I'm not sure the 'romance' between Charlotte and the Curate was a romance, more along the lines of an expectation. Certainly Charlotte wrote to Ellen that marriage was hard going (I'm paraphrasing). Charlotte died from complications of early pregnancy, possibly an ectopic pregnancy, though her own mother died from uterine cancer at a similar age.

Elendon · 31/12/2016 10:19

There is a brilliant documentary on the Brontes 'Being the Brontes' by the BBC. It's currently not available to watch online. It does go into the sisters past a lot. Highly recommended by me.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03kcd3l

birdybirdywoofwoof · 31/12/2016 10:20

The only misgiving I had was the ease in which the sisters seemed to whip up their books. surely there was some slog involved?!

Other than that, really enjoyed it.

PrivatePike · 31/12/2016 11:24

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